Category Archives: Reproductive Rights

The George Bush not-dead-yet-Presidency lives on! And it’s trying to redefine abortion for all federal grant recipients to include contraception. Read about the story here from RH Reality Check and commentary here from feministing. – David S. Cohen

From the ABC News Blog Legalities: … In a recent interview, Obama appears to back away from his long-stated positions on abortion (and a proposed federal abortion rights law he had co-sponsored), repudiate 35 years of accepted Supreme Court rulings … Continue reading →

That is a sentence from here, via Feminist Chemists, who posted the following: This is a great article from New Scientist, which summarizes years of research on how to be a genius. Apparently, having an extraordinarily high IQ is not … Continue reading →

As most people should know by now (and should have suspected originally), the story of the Massachusetts teen pregnancy “pact” was wrong. And, a follow-up story on Women’s eNews today has this paragraph, which really should be getting all the … Continue reading →

Anya Prince at the NWLC’s Womenstake blog reports: Before the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) of 1978 clearly made such practices unlawful, AT&T gave substantially less leave for pregnancy than for other short-term disabilities. Today, the women who were treated unequally … Continue reading →

NARAL released a poll today showing that when women learn about Senator John McCain’s voting record on reproductive rights, he loses a significant number of independent and pro-choice-Republican supporters. Pretty easy take-away for the Obama campaign on this one! … Continue reading →

The New York Times today has an essay from an obstetrician/gynecologist who recalls the days before Roe. He treated women with all sorts of medical problems as the result of attempting an illegal abortion without medical assistance. The … Continue reading →

[It’s been a long time since I’ve cross-posted. Feel free to go to my regular blog, Related Topics, and catch up.] For some time now the UK parliament has been considering a substantial overhaul of the act that … Continue reading →

Over at Faux Real, Lauren makes some important observations about the timing of the NARAL endorsement of Obama. In a few minutes I leave on a trip that will take me off the grid, so I am not going to … Continue reading →

Posts at Law and Letters, Concurring Opinions and at Workplace Prof Blog all discuss different aspects of a purported departure memo written by an associate at the San Francisco office of Paul, Hastings. The memo was initially posted at Above … Continue reading →

See it here. Read the transcript here. Warning: Sexist cigarette ads ahoy, and Sanger’s “quip” about smoking at the end of the interview is disturbing. Actually, maybe “sad” is a better descriptor. I guess she felt she needed to plug … Continue reading →

The Center for Reproductive Rights today announces a new fellowship with Columbia Law School for graduates pursuing legal academic careers in reproductive health and human rights. The Center-Columbia Fellow will be affiliated with both Columbia Law School and the Center, … Continue reading →

It’s not every day that the United States is reprimanded on the international stage for racial discrimination. And it’s certainly not every day that part of the charges includes discrimination against women of color in the area of reproductive health … Continue reading →

From the FLP Mailbox: The National Network of Abortion Funds condemns passage of the Vitter Amendment (S.Amdt. 3896) as part of the Indian Health Services Act (S.1200). Passed by the Senate earlier this week, the amendment adds language to the … Continue reading →

According to this article in the Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, the increase in contraceptive costs sold at student health centers on college campuses and some clinics is a “crisis.” David S. Cohen previously blogged about the issue here. The … Continue reading →

This time it’s Alabama. A new state law written to protect children from the fumes associated with methamphetamine manufacturing is being used to prosecute women who use drugs during pregnancy. Of course, the theory of the prosecutions is … Continue reading →

The South Dakota Senate has rejected this bill that would have required pharmacies to dispense contraceptives, despite pharmacists’ religious objections. Unfortunately, the legislature voted to allow South Dakota pharmacists to turn away women who are seeking birth control. More background … Continue reading →

Anti-abortion activists have filed a legal challenge against the Massachusetts law that expanded the buffer zone around abortion clinics from 18 to 35 feet. Anti-abortion activists complain of an unconstitutional restriction on their freedom of speech. Read more here. -Bridget … Continue reading →

The 8th Circuit ruled this week that the State of Missouri must provide transportation to clinics for inmates who want to have an abortion. The ruling responds to a class action brought by the ACLU on behalf of all imprisoned … Continue reading →

Unlike what’s coming out of Hollywood recently, a new Romanian film, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, really does deal with abortion. It won the Cannes Palme d’Or last year, and it now starts its run in the United … Continue reading →

Henry Hyde is dead. We have a Democratic Congress that should continue at least through the next election cycle. And, with massive discontent with the current Republican President and the party generally, we have a strong likelihood that a Democrat … Continue reading →

“This is an entertaining and educational video in Telugu on Condom usage, to prevent from sexually transmitted infections and HIV, from Nrityanjali Academy, Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India.” Watch it all the way through. There is a bit of repetition but … Continue reading →

I was at the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) conference last week and there, amid all legal publishing companies and on-line search services in the Exhibitor’s Hall, was a table for something called Embryo Connection, which works with the … Continue reading →

The Reproductive Rights Prof Blog has a good re-cap of the AALS Hot Topic panel on Gonzales v. Carhart. Michael Dorf also has offered his thoughts on some of the political issues raised in the panel. Here, I’d like to … Continue reading →

That’s an excerpt from this article, entitled “World Outsources Pregnancies To India.”

Posted inFeminism and Politics, Reproductive Rights, Sisters In Other Nations, Women and Economics|Comments Off on “More than 50 women in this city are now pregnant with the children of couples from the United States, Taiwan, Britain and beyond. The women earn more than many would make in 15 years. But the program raises a host of uncomfortable questions that touch on morals and modern science, exploitation and globalization, and that most natural of desires: to have a family.”

Albuquerque has seen a rash of abortion clinic violence in the past few weeks. One clinic was burned to the ground, another was set ablaze but suffered minor damage, and a third, a family planning clinic, had its windows … Continue reading →

There will be a Hot Topic panel on “Reproductive Justice after Carhart” at the AALS Annual Meeting in New York. Here is the information: Friday, January 4, 2008 10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Petit Trianon, 3 rd floor, New York Hilton Moderators: … Continue reading →

Great combination offer here from our mailbag. Katha Pollitt is great, and so is the National Network of Abortion Funds. Apparently, they’re running a promotion now that if you are a new donor to the latter you get … Continue reading →

Henry Hyde died today. The AP story says nothing about the millions of women he harmed since 1976 with the Hyde Amendment. Unfortunate for poor women throughout the country, the Hyde Amendment won’t die with him. – David … Continue reading →

A Texas man appealed his conviction for killing his pregnant girlfriend and the fetus she carried. He asserted violation of his substantive due process rights, inter alia, on the grounds that the fetus was not viable (and therefore its … Continue reading →

From the AP: A federal judge has suspended Washington state’s requirement that pharmacists sell “morning-after” birth control pills, a victory for druggists who say their moral objections to the drug are being bulldozed by the government. The full story is … Continue reading →

Here’s the frivolous lawsuit of the week. I wonder if the judge will award attorney’s fees. The National Center for Men seems like a hooplehead outfit. A federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit nicknamed … Continue reading →

The New York Times has a story today about Dr. Susan Wicklund’s new book, This Common Secret: My Journey as an Abortion Doctor. The story’s worth reading for her insider’s perspective on the importance of telling the stories of … Continue reading →

On November 5, President Bush will present the Presidential Medal of Freedom to, among others, Henry Hyde. (Hat tip to Prawfsblawg.) The official press release proclaims that Hyde “has served America with distinction” and has been a “powerful defender of … Continue reading →

Tony Mauro has an article worth reading about the aftermath of Gonzales v. Carhart, the Supreme Court case from last Term upholding the federal ban on “partial birth” abortions. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals is set to hear … Continue reading →

Blog homepage here. To highlight just one useful offering by this blog: A podcast of Amanda Marcotte interviewing kickass feminist Jenn Frederick of the American Domestic Violence Crisis Line on the myths and realities of domestic violence and barriers … Continue reading →

Birth control for middle schoolers? A decision by a Maine school board to offer prescription contraception to middle school girls (high schoolers already have that access) is roiling the political waters and bringing both dissent and support from a … Continue reading →

Feminist Law Prof Anita L. Allen (U. of Pennsylvania) has posted to ssrn her working paper, “Atmospherics: A Llewellynesque Comment on Abortion Law.” Here is the abstract: In 1934, Karl N. Llewellyn published a lively essay trumpeting the dawn … Continue reading →

I was working from home today, so I didn’t listen to the news programming on WDUQ as I usually do on the way home from work. WDUQ is the flagship NPR affiliate in Pittsburgh, broadcasting from the campus of Duquesne … Continue reading →

LONDON, England — A mother is seeking to have the womb of her severely disabled daughter removed to prevent the 15-year-old from feeling the pain and discomfort of menstruation. Doctors in Britain are now taking legal advice to see if … Continue reading →